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Every successful workday begins by doing the most important work first. As a real estate agent, your most important work is making calls and setting appointments. Of course, as soon as you step into your office you are faced with distractions—files on your desk, notes on your computer, messages to return and unfinished tasks. The challenge is to let all that go until you finish making those all-important morning phone calls. Nothing is more important than prospecting because nothing happens for your business until you book appointments.
If you have a clear vision of what success looks like for you and how you know when you achieve it, then you know how many active listings and open for inspections you need to see on your schedule. You have to meet people to generate listings, make sales and produce income. That all begins with making calls and booking appointments.
To make sure you will have great call sessions, start by scheduling when your first call will go out each day, and commit to making it. Expect to make 16 to 24 calls a day and have a list of names and numbers ready to go. Also consider that calling from your mobile phone rather than your office phone makes for a more personalized experience for your customers.
Next, realize that around half of your calls will require that you leave a voice message rather than speak to a person, and be ready to leave a message the customer is most likely to call back for. This is simple, really: Leave your name and mobile number only. Customers are more likely to call back if they think the call is from a friend. As soon as they call back you have the opportunity to make a conversion and book an appointment.
It is important that you consider the best times to make appointments. You don’t want to make appointments during the mornings when you need to be on the phone. And you don’t want to book appointments at times when you know your energy will be low. So decide when your best time of day is for meeting people and schedule your appointments accordingly. Within that time frame you can then offer your customer a couple of alternative times that might be more convenient for them.
You are probably more focused in the morning than at any other time of the day, so you want to capitalise on that energy and channel it into your most important work. Making calls in the mornings also allows your customers more time to return your calls the same day.
Think of it this way: Everybody wants to have a friend in the business. The time you spend making calls to people will be more enjoyable if you think of yourself as a friend calling a friend to be helpful. After all, you are not just selling property; you are building relationships and helping people make good decisions that will enhance their lives. Keep that in mind every day as you make those calls and book those appointments.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed today’s Coaching Tip, and I look forward to seeing you here again next week.